[From the Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, August 18th, 1873.] 



Description of a New Genus and Species of Alcyonoid Polyp.* 



BY ROBERT E. C. SiEARNS. 



At a meeting of the California Academy of Sciences, held on the third day of 

 February, 1873, a paper was read by me, entitled " Remarks on a New Alcyo- 

 noid Polyp, from Burrard's Inlet ; " f in which T gave a resume of the discus- 

 sions, notices, etc., in this country and in England, arising from the examination 

 by several naturalists, of certain " switch "-like forms, which had been received 

 by different parties from the Gulf of Georgia (more particularly from Burrard's 

 Inlet, in said gulf) ; several specimens of said " switches " being in the Museum 

 of the California Academy. 



These " switches," or rods, were referred by Dr. Gray, of the British Museum, 

 to his genus " Osteocella," and by Mr. Sclater's correspondent stated to belong to 

 " a sort of fish "; but by the majority of scientific gentlemen who had seen these 

 "switches" they were regarded as belonging to a species of Alcyonoid Polyp. 

 I expressed the belief that they belonged to a species of Umbellularla. 



At a meeting of the California Academy, held on the evening of August 4, 

 1873, Dr. James Blake presented a specimen of the polyp of which these so- 

 called switches are the axes, which had been sent to him from the Gulf of 

 Georgia by his friend, Capt. Doane. This specimen was one of six or seven 

 sent at the same time, all of which were in a tolerable state of preservation, 

 though, as might have been anticipated, the more delicate tissues of the polyps 

 are somewhat decomposed, and some of the specimens are in some places lacer- 

 ated. They all are, however, sufSciently perfect to determine the true position, 

 and show that the " switches " are, as was supposed, the supporting stalks or 

 axes of an Alcyonoid Polyp " related or pertaining to the group PennatulidcB." 



At the last meeting 1 referred the specimen before the Academy to that divis- 

 ion of the Pennatulidcc known as Virgidaria, but upon a subsequent examina- 

 tion of the authorities, I find that those forms in which the axis is unilateral, 

 or on one side, come within the Genus Pavonaria of Cuvier. 



The only species heretofore described so far as I can learn, and on which 

 this genus is based, is P. quadrangular is, of which a lengthy and interesting 

 description from Prof. Forbes, is given in Johnston's British Zoophytes (Vol. 

 I, pp. 164-166). In that species, however, the axis is " acutely quadrangular," 

 and the polyps are arranged in three longitudinal series, corresponding to three 

 of the " angles of the stem." 



♦ Printed in advance August 20th, 1873. 



t Vide Proc. Cal. Acad. Sciences, vol. V, part I, pp. 7-12. 



